A standard football is approximately eleven inches in length and made up of four panels with a single row of lacing to function as a finger grip for passing the football. For effective use, said footballs must be fully inflated so that they are relatively hard and non-resilient. As so inflated, the standard football is often difficult for a person to grasp and, particularly in the case of those possessing relatively little skill in the techniques of the game, injuries can be sustained merely by mishandling the ball or being struck with it.